Roy Mustang and the Mysterious Assassins
by flipomatic
Summary: Colonel Roy Mustangs life has just gotten more complicated; someone is trying to kill him, Edward Elric is reporting, and there is a new soldier in his office. What will Roy do? Read to find out. RoyxRizaxOC Pre-manga Rated T for slight swearing. Complete
1. Chapter 1

Author note: This is the product of my boredom in school. I took what was supposed to be my Spanish journal and flipped it upside down, turned it around, and started writing this story in it. I already have three chapters written. R&R

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Warnings: T for slight swearing

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It was a cheerful sunny day; the birds were chirping, the chipmunks were digging up acorns, and the 14-year-old Fullmetal Alchemist was desperately trying to escape his 13-year-old brothers metal grasp.

They were in Eastern to turn in their monthly report to the Colonel. Ed, of course, strongly disliked the Colonel and did not look forward to their meetings. Al only wanted to go so badly because he wanted to talk to Lieutenant Hawkeye; the two had plenty in common and were good friends.

Ed did not try to run away until they arrived at headquarters.

"You know Al," he said, "You can go turn our reports in. I will just be at that park across the street. See ya!" Ed turned around to run away, but found that his feet were no longer touching the ground. Al had picked him up by his armpits as his feet flailed wildly.

"Oh no Brother," Al said cheerfully. "I am not a state alchemist, so I can't turn in a report by myself."

Even facing this impeccably logic, Ed fought all the way to the Colonels office. Al put him down, still keeping a stern grip on his arm, before opening the door.

Havoc, Breda, Falman, and Fuery were all sitting at their desks and Havoc was in the process of flicking a paper football across the room. Breda tore his gaze away from the paper football to stare at the Elric brothers and the wayward object bounced off his head. He glared at the laughing Havoc while Ed approached Roy's office.

He tapped the door once, so lightly that it made almost no sound.

"There is no one here, let's go." He said, and tried to walk away. Al put a hand on Ed's shoulder and used the other to knock firmly on the door. After a few moments, Hawkeye opened the door from the inside and gestured for the boys to come in.

Ed gave one last struggle but failed yet again as Al pushed him through the door.

Colonel Roy Mustang was sitting at his desk, smirking at the pair. It appeared as if he and Riza had been having a meeting, just the two of them, before the brothers arrived.

Ed pulled out a folded piece of paper from one of the many pockets in his red jacked and dropped it on Roy's desk with a huff.

"Here is your report, Colonel-bastard."

Roy smirked, "Is your brother here Al? I can't seem to see him over my desk."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLIN SO SHORT THAT YOU WOULDN'T EVEN BE ABLE TO SEE THEM UNDER A MICROSCOPE!" Ed yelled angrily, stomping his feet and glaring at his least favorite superior officer.

Roy shifted his gaze to the livid teen, "Oh, there you are. Let's hear it, have you made any progress?"

There was a momentary stare off between the man and the teen as Riza shut the door. She went to stand in the corner of the room with Al as Ed stuck his hands in his pockets and slouched slightly.

"It was a dud," he grumbled, "They have never even heard of the philosopher stone in Lily, let alone have one."

Roy nodded, "Anything else?"

"No."

"Alright," Roy pulled a photo off his desk, "I want you to go meet this man. 2nd Lieutenant Baxter, at the library and bring him here."

"Why should I?" Ed did not like being told to do anything, it rubbed him the wrong way.

"Because it's an order. Now go."

Ed left, crumbling the picture in his fist and grumbling under his breath about obstinate Colonels. Al said goodbye to Riza and followed his brother out. As the door shut behind them, Riza moved to stand in front of Roy's desk.

"Are you going to invite the boys to the press conference this afternoon?" she asked inquisitively.

Roy nodded and grinned, "It's about time to bring them into the loop."

"That's true," Riza said quietly, before saluting. "I will be going back to my paperwork now, Sir."

"Dismissed."

Riza opened the door leading into the main office and snatched the paper football, which was conveniently soaring past her face, right out of the air. She glared at Havoc who was grinning sheepishly, and sat down at her desk.

The office was silent as everyone worked. Unfortunately, nothing good lasts for long and there was a confident knock on the door. The Elrics were back, and they brought 2nd Lieutenant Baxter with them.

He was a few inches taller than Roy with short brown hair. When he followed Ed into the room, his eyes scanned over all of the people present, lingering slightly on Riza. He smiled slightly at her, but she ignored him and went over to the door that led to Roy's office.

"Please follow me 2nd Lieutenant Baxter," she said, and opened the door. The two went through and Riza dismissed Ed before closing the door behind her.

She went to stand in her usual place behind Roy while Baxter snapped to attention

"2nd Lieutenant Baxter reporting for duty!"

"At ease," Roy said, "What is your full name?"

"Adam Baxter, Sir." Baxter had only relaxed his stance slightly, still seeming uneasy in the presence of his two superior officers.

"Area of expertise?"

"Electricity alchemy," Baxter declared, "I can make sparks and power small appliances, but since it is rather useless in a fight I was unable to become a state alchemist."

"Roy nodded, "Alright, why did you transfer under my command?"

Baxter hesitated slightly, "I was looking for a change of pace. And some warmth, because I was at Briggs, and it was cold."

If Roy found this response suspicious, he did not show it. "Lieutenant Hawkeye will assign you a desk and introduce you to the other men. Dismissed."

Baxter and Riza both saluted and went back to the main office. Ed and Al had left, and all of the men stared at their new comrade. Riza broke the silence.

"This," she began, " Is 2nd Lieutenant Baxter. Baxter, meet everybody. I am 1st Lieutenant Hawkeye, this is 2nd Lieutenant Havoc, 2nd Lieutenant Breda, Master Sergeant Fuery, and Warrant Officer Falman." She gestured to each man as she named them. "That desk there is yours. You will be responsible for some of the offices paperwork and you report directly to Colonel Mustang. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

Baxter nodded and Riza left him to his thoughts. She still had a lot of paperwork to fill out before the press conference that afternoon.

A few hours passed, and Baxter personalized his desk in that time. All it needed was a little more color, maybe something bright orange, before he would be satisfied with it.

At about noon, the whole office except for Roy and Riza took their lunch break. The men, including Baxter, went to the mess hall to get some regulation slop and get to know the new guy better.

Once they were gone, Roy came out of his office. Riza stood up and saluted as he approached her.

"Lets go." Was all he said, Riza nodded and followed him out. They were on their way to a press conference about the Ishvalan war and the veterans who survived it. Both Roy and Riza were invited to speak, but only Roy accepted. It would be better for his image if he was the only one in the office participating, and he felt safer with Riza guarding him instead of waiting to speak in a line off stage.

The whole thing was being held in an auditorium on the southern side of the eastern HQ. When Roy and Riza arrived, there was a soldier on stage talking about the glory of war.

Roy mentally scoffed at the press, whom were eating it all up, and went to wait for his turn to speak. He didn't have to wait for long because there was nobody in line.

He walked up on the stage, Riza following two paces behind. Roy stopped at the microphone and stared out at the crowd of reporters.

"Hello," he said, "my name is Colonel Roy Mustang and I am a veteran of the Ishvalan war. I will answer your questions the best I can."

The reporters all raised their hands, and Roy pointed to one in the fourth row.

"How do you feel about the Ishvalan rebellion? Was it truly, as most claim it to be, a glorious campaign?"

Roy blinked once before speaking, "The Ishvalan rebellion would be more aptly named the Ishvalan ma…"

There was a loud BANG; the sound of a gunshot, and Roy felt himself being shoved to the ground as another one rang out. He glanced behind him and gasped.

"Shit, Hawkeye!" there was blood, too much blood, and it was coming from the wrong person.

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End note: Chapter one complete. This actually took up 7 and a half pages of notebook paper, but didn't turn out to be that long.

Review Please


	2. Chapter 2

Author note: This chapter is not as good as the first one. But I am working on it and by the time I am done it should be up to par. R&R

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Warning: slight swearing, and a few characters might be OOC

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Riza caught the glint of a gun in the crowd and her eyes widened. She quickly shoved Roy out of the way as a single shot rang out. Unfortunately, this led to her being hit in the left shoulder by the wayward bullet.

Her left arm fell limp, but she ignored it temporarily and used her right hand to shoot one shot into the audience. It met its mark, and the man with the gun had a hole between his eyes.

Her job done, Riza clutched her shoulder as she keeled over, the blood loss was finally getting to her. Oh well, as long as Roy was safe she couldn't care less.

She heard Roy curse before her vision went black.

There is a line here

When Riza fainted, Roy ran over to her.

"Sergeant," he addressed the soldier that was on the stage before him, "Go call an ambulance. Now!"

The soldier saluted and ran off and Roy sat down next to Riza, completely oblivious to the press snapping pictures, and took her pulse carefully. It was weak, but there. Roy took off his military jacket and used it to compress the wound until the paramedics arrived. By that time, he was covered in Riza's blood.

General Grumman arrived on the scene with the ambulance and ordered Roy to clean up and go back to his office. He would make sure to let Roy know about Riza's condition.

Roy only did one of these things; he was still covered in blood when he got back to the office. All of the men were back from lunch by then and fell silent as he entered the room. It was odd to see their commanding officer covered in blood and staring at the floor as if he wanted it to swallow him.

"What happened Colonel?" Havoc broke the awkward silence. Roy turned to look at him, a deep frown etched on his face.

"We were attacked. Let me know if a messenger comes." Roy walked towards his office.

"Where is Hawkeye?" Havoc asked, still confused. Roy did not answer and kept his head down as he entered his office. The men all exchanged glances.

"Is this normal?" Baxter asked.

"No," Havoc shook his head, "This is not normal. Fuery, go look for Hawkeye, I'm kind of worried now."

Fuery nodded and left, shutting the door quietly behind him. A few minutes of awkward silence later, Maes Hughes opened the door and peeked his head in.

"Is Colonel Mustang here?" he inquired, and Havoc pointed at the office door.

"In there."

Hughes nodded and went into Roy's office. Roy was, unbelievably, filling out paperwork, an incident report to be more precise. His face was expressionless as he gazed up at his friend. There was silence for a moment as Hughes closed the door behind him.

"What happened?" the bespectacled man asked, "All I know I heard from a teary Armstrong who was blubbering about how Hawkeye had been shot.

"She took a bullet for me Maes," Roy averted his eyes to his quivering hands, "and I… I should've… ughh. This is all my fault."

Maes continued as if he had not just witnessed Roy's guilt trip. "I also heard," he said with a big grin, "That she is under the care of one Dr. Knox and is in stable condition."

Roy jumped up from behind his desk, tipping his chair backwards with a thud.

"Where?" he asked.

"The military hospital."

"Thanks. See you later." Roy grabbed a spare jacket from his closet and made a mental note to dry clean the bloody one after this was all over.

"Bye."

Roy decided to take Havoc and Baxter with him to see Riza. Havoc practically invited himself and insisted that since he was training Baxter, then Baxter had to come too.

The military hospital was only on the other side of HQ and it only took a few minutes of brisk walking to get there.

The receptionist told them which room Riza was in and they went there. Dr. Knox was waiting for them, or more specifically, Roy.

Roy shook the doctors' hand, "How is she Dr. Knox?"

Dr. Knox scoffed, "Not the worst I've seen her, but not the best either. You're lucky I'm not retired yet and that I was here today, boy. She hurt the nerves in her left shoulder and it is causing her quite a bit of pain, but she's stable, and there will be no lasting damage. "

The tension eased out of Roy's face, "Thank you."

Dr. Knox scoffed again and walked away, saying something about having some autopsies to do. Roy went into Rizas' room, leaving Havoc and Baxter in the hallway.

Riza was sound asleep, a heart rate monitor beating steadily in the corner. There were a few other machines, and seeing her attached to all of them made Roy's heart ache.

Riza's arm was in a splint, and her hair was loose.

Roy sighed and left a gentle kiss on her pale forehead before going back into the hallway.

While Havoc was visiting Riza, Baxter went to the hospital lobby and bought some flowers. When it was his turn to visit Riza, he left the flowers on her nightstand. The trio then went back to the office; there was still a lot of paperwork that needed filling out.

Edward and Alphonse Elric were waiting for them.

Ed glowered at Roy as the man gestured for the boys to follow him into his office. Ed did so, and Al followed, closing and locking the door behind him. Roy sat down at his desk and addressed the fuming teen.

"What is it Fullmetal?"

"I can't follow you anymore." Ed stared at his shoes as he spoke, "I want you to transfer me to another department."

"Why?"

"Why? Why! You very well know why!" Ed glared vehemently at Roy.

Roy stood up and walked over to the teen. "I don't, please inform me."

"Using your subordinates as shields, ordering them to take bullets for you. I can't stand bastards like that!" Eds' eyes were full of anger and Al was unable to meet Roy's gaze from his spot in the corner.

Roy's eyes flared dangerously and he took one step closer to Ed. "I would never do that! I'm not even sure where you got the idea."

"What about Lt. Hawkeye! Why would she take a bullet for you of all people if she wasn't ordered to?"

Roy gave a humorless laugh and ran his fingers though his hair tiredly, "Don't you think I've been trying to figure that out? I have been thinking about it for years and am still stumped. What she did today went against my wishes; I want to protect my men, not the other way around."

Ed sighed, "I still got my eye on you. And you're still a bastard."

Roy chuckled, "Good to hear it. Why don't you go visit Lt. Hawkeye, she would be glad to see you."

Ed nodded and waved goodbye. Al thanked the colonel for his patience and followed his brother out.

Roy went to sit back down in his chair with a sigh of relief; that whole situation could have gone poorly. He got lucky that Ed was relatively easy to calm down, and that Al never really believed his brothers' theory in the first place.

Roy glared at the paperwork on his desk, before picking up his pen to get started on it. As he signed his name the first time, he realized that he hated paperwork and didn't want to sit and fill it out. He decided to investigate the attack and to check out the scene of the crime.

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Review Replies

**IvyShort:** You will just have to wait and see, and please don't die.

**Lou Nebin:** Hablas español? Hablo muy pequeño español.

**Baxter54132:** I will not abandon it! I have not abandoned letters, it is just on hiatus.

**Mew Phong:** This chapter should help explain a few things.

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End note: Sorry this took so long. I started typing a few days ago but then ran out of time. Then I wrote a thirteen-page outline and a few essays, and then got back to writing.

Review Please


	3. Chapter 3

Author Note: I never know what to say in these things. I decided to re-watch Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood because Brotherhood is awesome. I'm already on episode six, and I noticed that Riza aged a lot from the four years ago to now, and from the beginning of the series to the end.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Warnings: Slight cursing and OOCness

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The area was taped off and there ware a few military officers milling around. Roy went to find whoever was in charge. The highest ranking officer at the time was a captain, and he saluted at Roy.

Roy saluted back. "At ease," he said, "What did they find?"

The soldier responded, "The man who tried to kill you is dead. He was shot between the eyes at the time of the incident and taken to the hospital for investigation."

Roy nodded, "Make sure to send a copy of the report to my office."

"Yes Sir."

Roy soon left the scene and went back to the hospital to see if Riza was awake. Upon arrival, he found out that she was. She was talking to Dr. Knox and the older man was lecturing her about her arm.

"You were about this close," Dr. Knox made a hand sign with his fingers about a centimeter apart, "to loosing that arm. Now…"

There was a knock on the door, Roy had decided it might be better to knock rather than barge in. Dr. Knox walked over to the door.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Colonel Mustang here to see Lieutenant Hawkeye."

The doctor opened the door and Roy came in. He smiled when he noticed that Riza was awake and had much more color in her face then she did an hour before. Once the door was securely shut behind him, he asked,

"Are you alright, Hawkeye?"

She nodded, "I am fine Sir, it is just some minor damage. They said I will be released in a week." There was a glint in Riza's eyes, as if she planned to be our in half that time.

Dr. Knox cut her off, "That's right, one week. No less."

For a brief moment, Roy had a flashback. It consisted of a similar conversation held in a hospital in Ishval with Riza wanting to leave and Dr. Knox insisting she stay. It was all Roy's fault then too.

He snapped out of it and intervened in the argument.

"I agree with the doctor. After all, a week isn't that long and you need the time away from work anyway."

Roy shrank slightly as Riza turned her death glare on him, she clearly did not share his opinion.

Dr. Knox sighed, "Think about it this way, if you strain the nerves before they are healed you could lose your arm, or be in the hospital for another month. This way you are free of us in a week, so give it up."

"Fine," Riza agreed reluctantly, "But I still want to be able to work while I am here."

"As long as you don't use your left arm." Dr. Knox made a note on his clipboard before muttering something about other patients and leaving Roy and Riza alone.

The two shared a laugh at the grumpy man, they had known the doctor since Ishval and he was the only one they trusted with Riza's back.

For the next hour or so, Roy and Riza chatted about trivial things, like work and Black Hayate. A nurse came by to tell them that visiting hours were over, and Roy went home to get some sleep, it had been a long day.

The next morning, he gathered his subordinates for a quick briefing.

"After what happened yesterday," Roy said, "There are going to be some minor changes. Baxter will take over Hawkeye's job guarding me and Havoc will distribute her paperwork equally among the office"

"Yes Sir." All of the men except for Baxter saluted and left to start the massive pile of paperwork they had been assigned.

"Sir," Baxter asked, "What should I do, precisely?"

Roy grinned, "Follow me around, and kill anybody shooting at us. For now, check the perimeter and do your paperwork."

"Yes Sir." Baxter saluted and left to go find the perimeter, wherever that may be.

Roy yawned and settled back in his comfy office chair for a good long nap. After a blissful ten minutes, he was woken by a disgruntled Havoc dropping an enormous stack of paperwork on his desk with a loud thud. Roy glared at the blond, who returned the gesture and excited. Roy sighed and picked up his pen to get to work.

After a few hours of monotonous paperwork, it was time for lunch. Baxter was back from his perimeter securing/visiting Riza, and went with Roy to the mess hall. The two men sat across from each other, still scrutinizing carefully. They stuffed their faces in silence for a moment. Then Roy instigated some conversation.

"So," he said, "tell me about yourself. Where were you stationed before this?"

Baxter put down his fork and responded, "Up north, at Briggs. But the cold didn't really agree with me."

"Or maybe the General?" Roy smirked.

"Huh?" Baxter tilted his head in a confused manner.

Roy shook his head, "Forget it. Anything else I should know besides the fact that you don't like the cold?"

"Well," Baxter thought for a second, "My favorite color is orange and you're right, the General at Briggs scares me."

"She has that effect on people."

"Yeah" they chuckled.

Baxter picked up his fork again and started picking at his food, "Um," he said cautiously, "Do you know if Lieutenant Hawkeye is dating anybody?"

Baxter didn't notice, but Roy's posture stiffened at the question.

"I don't know," Roy shrugged, "She has never mentioned anybody, but she might even be married for all we know."

"But you do know." Baxter quit his fiddling to stare right at Roy.

"Hmn?"

"As the commanding officer, you would know all of the basics about your subordinates, at least enough details to know if they are married or not, Hawkeye included."

Roy shrugged again, " When she joined my team, she wasn't married or dating anybody. But it has been a long time, and I don't follow my subordinates personal lives that closely."

Baxter nodded, reluctantly accepting the excuse. He checked his watch; "I'm going to visit her when I'm done eating. Can you make it through HQ without me, or do I really have to follow you everywhere?"

Roy considered it for a moment; if he forced Baxter to follow him, it would only incite the young man. But if he let him go, then Baxter would see Riza. Oh well, Riza could handle him.

Roy waved his hand, "Go on, you don't have to stick to me like glue."

Baxter nodded and saluted, "See you later Colonel."

Roy watched as the 2nd Lieutenant threw away the remains of his lunch and left the mess hall. He was an interesting boy to say the least. Roy nibbled at his meal for a few more minutes before going back to work; after all, without Riza in the office nothing would get done any way.

Havoc was taking full advantage of that fact and had the audacity to smoke in the office. Roy could smell it from behind his closed door and it was extremely annoying. Every time he went to file something he would glare at the tall blond. After a few hours of coughing, Fuery finally gathered the courage to ask Havoc to smoke outside.

Havoc just shrugged and said ok and Fuery nearly fainted from relief.

This was the only eventful event the entire afternoon.

The next day went very much the same, just without the smoking. Roy worked, had lunch, dragged Baxter places, and visited Riza. She had some flowers in her room, which bothered Roy slightly. Who did they come from?

His question went unanswered be cause he, unlike Fuery, could not build up the guts to ask. It was ironic; Roy Mustang, war hero, was unable to ask his subordinate, no, friend, who had sent her the flowers.

He finished up his workday by signing yet more papers before dismissing Baxter and walking home. Roy was about half way there when the assassins struck for the second time.

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Review Replies

**TuTsXxX:** Thanks! I am excited too, I have had so much fun writing this so far.

**IvyShort:** *cowers* ok, ok. Don't attack me please…

**Ziryx:** Letters is on hiatus… This one will so last! I already have like two thirds of it written.

**Lou Nebin:** Your telephone is stupid? Thanks for reviewing!

**Mew Phong:** Definitely, I love Ed. When I first started working on it, he was just going to be there in the beginning, but I couldn't help but bring him back later. :)

**Baxter54132:** I did warn for OOCness didn't I. The idea just hits him anew every time he tries.

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End Note: Drama in the house lol. I have my finals this week and probably should be studying right now…

Review Please


	4. Chapter 4

Author Note: Sorry it has been so long with this; it kind of slipped my mind for a while. But at school today, I finished writing it. There will be eight chapters in total, so we are actually half way done at this point. R&R

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Warning: Rated T for slight swearing and possible OOCness

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Roy's day was officially ruined.

Riza was receiving flowers from somebody he didn't know, he had been forced to fill out endless piles of paper work, and now he was being attacked. The only plus was that it wasn't raining, yet.

There were two assassins this time, one with a sword and the other had a gun. They ambushed Roy from an alley when he was walking down a quiet side street. Roy was simply walking past the alley when the gun guy aimed carefully and let loose a whole clip towards Roys head.

Roy had seen the glint of the gun in his peripheral vision and was ready. He jumped behind a parked car for shelter and sent a spark in the attackers' direction. If he could force them to stay in that alley, then he could avoid civilian casualties. The few people on the street had already started to run away after they heard the gunshots.

As the flames flashed against the entrance to the alley, the assassins backed deeper into the shadows as to not be burned.

Roy took a few cautious steps into the alley, his fingers ready to snap at a moments notice.

"Watch the entrance," the slightly smoking sword guy said to his partner, who glared at him indignantly."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Grumbling under his breath, the gun guy moved past Roy to stand guard at the entrance of the ally. Roy stood so he could keep an eye on them both.

"Why are you attacking me?" he asked.

The sword guy shrugged, "Money, it's a job." Then he drew his sword out of its intricately designed sheathe. "Nothing personal."

Roy's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything.

The sword guy lunged and Roy dodged right, throwing a small spark while he was at it. Then, to dodge the sword again, he backpedaled right into the alley wall.

The point of the sword met his jugular, and Roy thought it was the end. His brain worked rapidly, trying to find a way to escape the situation.

He was about to leap into action, and possibly death, when a single gunshot ran out.

Suddenly, the gun guy fell over, a bullet between his eyes. This distracted the sword guy for the brief moment Roy needed to fry him. Literally.

The stench of burned flesh filled the air, and Roy stumbled out of the alley.

The smell haunted his nightmares and his memories. Now, after the entire trauma, he was hallucinating. There was no way Riza Hawkeye could be standing there, rifle in hand, yelling at him. She was at the hospital.

But even if it was a hallucination, it was still Riza, so he decided to tune in and listen.

"What the hell did you think you were doing!" Riza was beyond pissed off. She would have killed Roy herself if the whole point to her being around wasn't to protect him.

She had snuck out of the hospital because something just didn't feel right, and as she retrieved a few of her guns from her home she could tell Roy was in danger. She followed the route he would usually take and presto, the idiot was being attacked in an alleyway.

After saving his sorry ass, she was livid.

"I. uh, well,,," Roy chuckled nervously at a loss for words.

"Why isn't 2nd Lt. Baxter with you?" Riza probed, trying to find the reason the colonel was out all by himself. He did not provide a suitable answer.

"I dismissed him," there was a silence for a moment as Roy mustered up his courage to ask, "Are you a hallucination?"

Riza blinked once, clearly surprised by his question, before her anger returned full force, "I am NOT a hallucination!"

"How did you get out of the hospital then?" Roy smirked, "I am sure Dr. Knox didn't let you go early."

Riza flushed slightly, much to her dismay, "I snuck out. Now I'm going to walk you home and sneak right back in, so let's go."

She walked toward his house, and Roy followed silently.

"Colonel," she said from in front of him, "make sure to report the incident to General Grumman when you get home."

"Alright," he nodded.

They got to Roy's house quickly and Riza saluted in farewell.

"Bye Lieutenant, and… thanks." Roy saluted back as he spoke, then unlocked his house and went inside.

Riza prepared herself for re-entry into the hospital as she walked back. She had originally escaped by dressing as a nurse, which only worked because nobody recognized her out of uniform. She had ditched he nurse outfit in favor of her military uniform when she got her gun.

The best course of action would be to go straight through the door and hope for luck. She was about to approach the doors to the hospital when she heard someone calling her name.

"Lt. Hawkeye," It was Baxter, "Hey, what's going on?"

Riza grinned at the soldier, "Not much, just getting a breath of fresh air."

Baxter glanced over her uniform in disbelief, taking note of the military uniform and rifle.

"Oh really," he smirked, "Then why do you look as if you were just in a battle?" Riza sweatdropped and shrugged. Baxter continued, "I'm taking you back to the hospital."

Riza pointed at the large building near them, "Already here. I think I can make it back to my room safely by myself. Bye." She started to walk away, but was stopped by Baxter's stuttering voice.

"W-wait a moment," he said, "do y-you want t-to go on a d-date or something after you get out of the hospital?"

Riza turned around to address Baxter face to face, "Alright, but if it interferes with work then it won't happen again. Also, it will have to be after all the chaos with the Colonel calms down." After all, she thought, military relationships never really worked out anyway. Also, her personal life needed a boost, all she ever did was work.

Baxter grinned brightly, "Great!" he exclaimed, "we can talk more about it after you are released, so get better quickly. Bye." He waved and watched as Riza went into the hospital.

She worked her way back to her room slowly; keeping an eye out for anybody she may know or might recognize her as a patient on the way. She made it back to her room without incident and quickly changed back into her hospital clothes. It was getting late, so she settled down for the night and went to sleep.

Roy, on the other hand, was still wide awake. After reporting the attack to General Grumman, he called the Elric Brothers.

"Hello?" Al's voice answered quietly.

"This is Colonel Mustang. I need you and your brother to meet me at noon tomorrow in my office."

"Alright," Al responded, "See you then Colonel."

"Goodnight Al."

"Goodnight."

Roy hung up the phone and sighed, he didn't want to bring the Elric brothers into this but he did not have much choice. They were his only agents who could move freely without being suspicious.

After doing a quick sweep of his house, and finding nothing, Roy changed his clothes and flicked off the lights to go to sleep.

When Roy arrived at the office the next day, late of course, he found Baxter entertaining his subordinates.

"And she said yes!" Baxter exclaimed, a smug grin on his face.

Havoc's jaw dropped, "No way. I've been trying for years, and she always says no. Not just to me, but to everybody, except maybe the Colonel."

Baxter had his back to Roy and did not notice the other man approaching as he talked.

"Who are we talking about?"

Baxter jumped slightly, and ignoring Havoc's frantic hand signs of 'don't say it' said, "Lt. Hawkeye sir, she agreed to go on a date with me."

Havoc face-planted and Roy felt a twinge of what could only be called jealousy. He did not let it show on his face.

"Congratulations," he said icily, "you have accomplished what Havoc could not."

"Hey!" Havoc un-face-planted and jumped up.

Ignoring the indignant outburst, Roy continued. "Apparently, when they were in the academy together, he would ask Hawkeye out on a date nearly every day. Every time she said no."

Havoc sighed, "You don't need to remind me. But Baxter, be careful. The Colonel gets really j… Oi! Don't shoot fire at me!"

Roy snapped again, frying Havoc's cigarette. As Roy sulked away, he heard Baxter quietly ask, "He's not going to kill me is he?"

Roy slammed the office door dramatically behind him and glared at the stack of paperwork on his desk. A little light bulb dinged on over his head as he had an epiphany. He rearranged the paper on his desk to a nice sized stack in the center before settling into his chair.

Roy tilted his chair back on two legs before placing his feet carefully on the stack of paper. It was perfect.

He was comfortable and rather tired, so he dozed off.

He woke with a start when he heard Ed laughing at him. Unfortunately for Roy, he momentarily forgot his feet were not planted firmly on the floor and found himself dumped unceremoniously on his head, the chair overturned. He jumped up and glared at the hysterical teen.

"One sec, one sec," Ed tried to stop laughing, before bursting out again. "Ok, ok. I'm good."

"Close the door please."

Al closed the door, and Ed and Al filled the two chairs in front of Roy's desk. Roy cleared away the unfortunate stack of paperwork and picked his chair back up.

He sat down in it and said, "Now, I need you two to do something for me."

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End Note: Lol, it has been about half a year since I wrote the author note at the top. I will be getting the rest of this story to you soon.

Review Please


	5. Chapter 5

Author Note: College, which I started recently, is a lot of fun. The freedom I have now to do pretty much whatever I want is amazing. R&R

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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"What do you want Colonel? You didn't make any short jokes so this must be serious." Ed said, crossing his arms.

Roy nodded, "I need for you to investigate the people who keep attacking me. Also, do a full background check on Baxter. The file I have on him is incomplete."

Ed smirked, "Alright, but only because we don't have any leads on the philosopher stone right now. But If I may ask, do you only want to know about Baxter because he is going on a date with the Lieutenant?" Ed had a smug grin on his face.

Roy gritted his teeth, "No."

"Oh really?" Ed had an evil look in his eyes, "'cause I just think you are jealous."

Roy sighed, "Get out." He pointed towards the door.

"I'm going. Let's go Al." Ed stood up and turned to walk out the door. Al nodded and followed his brother as the pair exited. They waved goodbye to the rest of the office and started walking towards the scene of the first shooting.

There was silence until…

"Meow,"

"erm… meow, meow."

Ed twitched and glared at his brother, "Al, do you have a cat in your armor again!"

"um, maybe?" Al shrank under his brothers intense gaze, "Ok, I do. But he was just so cute I couldn't help it. And he was all alone."

"Meow."

"Just get rid of it," Ed pointed to some bushes, "You could put it in those shrubs over there."

"But I don't want to abandon him, "Al made the cutest puppy dog look possible for a suit of armor to muster, "Please can we keep him?"

"No." Ed wouldn't meet Al's gaze, "We can get a cat after we settle down and get our bodies back, but we can't take care of one properly when we are always on the road like this."

"I suppose you're right," Al's voice sounded disappointed as he removed the black cat from his armor. "Goodbye kitty."

He put it near the bushes and it gave the equivalent of a kitty-cat shrug before walking away. Al sighed dramatically, and the brothers kept moving.

"Brother," Al said quietly, "You are a nice person."

Ed scratched the back of his head, "I don't know what you mean."

Al continued, "Now I know why Winry likes you so much." A glint appeared in his eyes as he chuckled evilly.

"I-I still don't know what you mean," Ed spluttered, not expecting this angle of attack from his younger brother.

"Yeah, yeah," Al grinned a metal grin, "Hey look, we're here."

Ed hadn't noticed their arrival at the auditorium due to his flustered state. He snapped out of it and formed his plan of attack. The brothers would split up, Al searching for any clues on the stage and Ed would scour the seats in the audience.

When Ed got to the seat where the assassin was sitting, he noticed he could see the whole stage from it, while Al could barely see his brother at all from the stage. That one spot was a great vantage point for an assassin who wanted to kill in plain sight. It was either luck or amazing skill which allowed Riza to hit the assassin from the stage.

Both of the boys looked around the area for a while longer, but were unable to find any clues the previous military investigation may have missed. Unfortunately, the military cleaned up so well there was no evidence an incident had occurred there. There was no blood, no hair, no nothing.

Ed was about to give up on his end of the search, but there was one place he hadn't checked yet. He crawled under the seat the assassin used, being secretly grateful for his small stature, and looked underneath it. There was some gum and dust, and also something interesting. On the inside of the front right leg there was an insignia etched into the wood.

It depicted a serpent eating its own tail with a star in the center.

Ed copied it down into a notebook he had in his pocket and crawled out from the confined space before calling Al down from the stage. They met in the lobby.

"Did you find anything?" Al asked anxiously.

Ed nodded, "Yeah. Take a look at this," He showed his brother the drawing of the symbol, "It was carved underneath the seat the assassin sat in."

Al had never seen the symbol before either, and the boys decided they should hold onto it just in case they saw it again. Ed tucked the notebook back into one of his impossibly large pockets and the brothers started walking to the scene of the second attack.

The walk only took about ten minutes.

The alleyway was not cleaned up like the auditorium was and was still covered in dried blood. Ed could smell the disgusting odor as he approached, and wrinkled his nose with distaste. A piece of warning tape was blocking the entrance off and there was one military officer standing guard.

"What happened here?" Ed asked as he approached the guard.

"It is a military matter." The man did not recognize Ed as a state alchemist and dismissed him the same way he would with any other child. Ed bristled with frustration and pulled out his pocket watch.

"I'm a state alchemist," he said loudly, brandishing the silver object in the guards face, "Now tell me what happened."

The soldiers eyes flickered briefly with surprise and he snapped to attention. "Sorry Sir, I did not recognize you. There was a fight between the flame alchemist and a couple of assassins here yesterday. I was instructed to guard the site."

"I am going to take a look around, " said Ed, "Stay out here Al. Ok?"

Al nodded his consent, "Alright brother."

Ad ducked under the caution tape and made his way into the gloom. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the alley, but once they did he noticed something lying on the ground. It was a sword.

The sword had been singed slightly, but was still intact. On the hilt, the symbol from earlier stuck out like a sore thumb.

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About half an hour after the Elric brothers left his office, Roy heard a commotion coming from the main office. He left the comfort of his chair to see what the noise was all about and was astonished to see Riza greeting the men.

Apparently, she explained, the doctors were so impressed with her ability to escape and sneak back in without being caught by anything except security cameras, they declared her healed and discharged her. She was back for active duty, and no amount of insisting it had not been a week yet and she still needed more bed rest could change that.

Roy also found out, much to his dismay, she really was going on a date with Baxter. She had plans to go over to his house that very evening for a homemade meal. Roy felt a sinking feeling in his stomach whenever he thought about it, which he ignored, because it couldn't have been the nonexistent jealousy in his heart.

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Baxter was just putting the finishing touches on his food when the doorbell rang.

"One moment!" He called out. He quickly pouted two glasses of a nice red wine and pulled a vial of clear liquid out of his pocket. One drop was carefully dripped into the right glass, which was placed at Riza's seat at the table, and he answered the door.

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End Note: Ooh, cliffhanger

Review Please!


	6. Chapter 6

Author Note: Here we are, chapter 6. I may actually finish this story and when I do, it will be my first complete chapter story. Most of my fics are in progress or one-shots. R&R Please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Warning: Starting in this chapter, characters (such as Riza) may act OoC. Also, bear with me, the PoV is going to get a bit jumpy.

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Roy was not jealous, he was not. He was simply following Riza on her date because he was a concerned friend. Not because he wished he had the courage to ask her out first. No, it was more than that. He only trusted Baxter about as far as he could throw him, which was not far at all.

Right now, Riza was ringing the doorbell at Baxter's house and Roy was creeping from a neighbors shrubs. Not creeping, observing. Apparently there is a difference. Roy counted his lucky stars she had not seen him.

After Riza went inside, he crawled out of the bushes and brushed the dirt off his pants. He took a lap around Baxter's house, trying to find a window to look in. He was about to run around again when a pang of guilt struck.

What was he doing here? What Riza did in her free time was no business of his, he only made her life miserable. Maybe dating Baxter, as untrustworthy as the guy was, would be good for her. Deciding he may have judged the young man too quickly and trusting the Elric brothers were running a background check anyway, Roy walked with his head down back to his apartment.

He had a date with some beer.

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Riza was on a date with Baxter in his home, and it was slightly uncomfortable. He was a great cook and polite enough, but he kept staring at her as if he expected her to sprout horns or something.

"So," Baxter tried to start a conversation, "How long have you been stationed under Colonel Mustang?"

The two were still sitting at Baxter's kitchen table, picking at the meal Baxter prepared. Riza swallowed before responding,

"A few years. Why?"

"Oh," Baxter raised his hands defensively, "I was just curious. You two are really close, aren't you?"

Riza shrugged and took a small sip of her wine, "Just as close as any other Colonel and 1st. Lieutenant."

Baxter's grin seemed to widen by a few molars and Riza's head started to feel fuzzy. She blinked a few times, but couldn't shake the sensation. Was it her, or did Baxter suddenly look a lot more handsome than he had a minute ago? No, he had always been that hot, she just never noticed it before.

Feeling and uncharacteristic pang of nervousness, Riza averted her gaze to her food. The pair finished their meal in awkward silence before moving to sit on the couch afterwards.

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Ed and Al were digging through piles and piles and piles of books. Hughes had let them into the investigation archives and they were taking full advantage of their time there.

The boys were looking for the records of the three dead men, the strange symbol, and any hints about Baxter. They actually found the clue to all three in Baxter's file.

It said he used to be a member of 'Greed's Crew', a small gang that didn't cause too much trouble. It had its own file, and the Elric brothers couldn't believe their luck.

The symbol was the representative symbol of the gang and it was called an oroborus. They carved it in key locations to help other gang members carry out instructions better and to symbolize the gang overall. The three dead men were all identified as members of this gang.

As Ed closed the file, he turned to his brother, "Hey Al," he said, "Isn't Lt. Hawkeye on a date with Baxter right now?"

Al looked as worried as a suit of armor can look, "Yeah, but what can we do? We don't have any evidence against Baxter that is not in his file, which we are not supposed to have access to anyway."

A little light bulb flashed on over Ed's head, "Follow me Al, I just had an idea." Ed scooped up Baxter's file and the gang's file and walked out of the archive. Al followed, not really sure where they were headed.

The boys walked quickly through the dimly lit hallways until arriving at Colonel Mustang's office. Ed used alchemy to unlock the door and he flicked the light on cautiously. There was nobody there.

Ed went over to Baxter's desk and crawled underneath it. He looked on the underside of it and sure enough, the oroborus symbol was etched there.

"Al," he exclaimed, "jumping up and hitting his head on the edge of the desk, "Ouch! Call the Colonel, he needs to see this."

Al nodded, "What is it?"

"The same symbol we saw in the files, an oroborus."

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Baxter was getting frustrated. Riza was still showing no signs of being effected by her drink and it had been an hour since she had ingested it. He thought, when she started acting shy, that it was working, but nothing changed after that.

He decided it was time to test the waters.

"Lt. Hawkeye," he asked, "Is it alright if I call you Riza?"

She blinked as if the question surprised her, "Sure, but only if I can call you Adam."

"Alright, Riza." He chuckled. It worked, she was under the effect of the drug. It hadn't shown earlier because of the control she usually shows over her emotions.

"Riza," Baxter said, "Do you think you could do a small favor for me?"

"Sure, anything for you." She sounded confused by what she was saying, but wasn't fighting it.

"How close are you with that Colonel of ours?" he asked with a glint in his eye.

"Not close at all, we are merely comrades." She responded, still sounding confused, but for a different reason now.

"Well," Baxter paused a moment for dramatic effect, "He has stepped off the path and has been trying to kill me."

Riza stood up from her place on the couch with a flash of anger, "The Colonel would never do that!"

"But he has my dear," Baxter said passively as he rose and pulled Riza into an embrace, "and it would be a great favor to me if you would help me. What do you say?"

"Alright," Riza agreed, "What do you need me to do?"

"Kill him."

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Ed tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the Colonel to arrive. He had called the man half an our ago and his little patience was quickly vanishing.

Al had filled the time petting a cat Fuery was keeping in his desk, but Ed was too high strung to stop his foot tapping long enough to give the furry animal a pat. When the office door finally opened, Ed glared at the drunk man who stumbled in.

"Hey Colonel bastard!" Ed taunted, "awfully drunk for a week night aren't you? If this wasn't important I would let you drink yourself to death, but that would be counterproductive."

"What is it Fullmetal?" Roy asked, slurring his words slightly.

"We figured out who has been attacking you." Al said, drawing the Colonels attention to him, "they left behind a really obvious clue."

"Yeah," Ed took over explaining, "a clue obvious enough that we have enough proof to start a real military investigation."

"Oh really?" Roy sounded less drunk as he asked, "What is this clue then that our investigation unit could not find?"

Ed scowled at Roy, "Right here." He held up a sketch of the oroborus symbol. "We found this on your attacker in the alleyway, etched on the chair in the auditorium, and scratched on one of the desks in your office."

"What!" Now not seeming drunk at all, Roy glared at Ed, "In my own office. Is this some kind of joke?"

"We wouldn't joke about something like this," Al said solemnly.

"Besides," Ed chuckled, "You already suspected this guy anyway. The one who is trying to kill you is Baxter."

Ed was interrupted from speaking more as an eerie creak sounded as the office door opened slowly and someone stepped into the room.

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End Note: Happy cliffhanger! This story is just full of them isn't it?

Review Please!


	7. Chapter 7

Author Note: Guess what? It snowed yesterday! Winter has arrived and I am really excited! Despite the coming winter, I still found time to type this up for you all. R&R

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Warning: Riza still might (will) still act OoC.

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Riza's hands shook and her eyes were slightly clouded as she pointed a pistol at Roy. She was having trouble believing this whole situation; she trusted Roy with her life, but Baxter said Roy was trying to kill him. She was starting to love Baxter and wanted to keep him safe, but this was a rather rash thing to do.

"Lt. Hawkeye," Ed approached her cautiously, "What's going on?"

Riza cursed to herself, she had forgotten about the brothers, "Get out of here boys," She said coldly, her eyes giving no emotion away, "this is between the Colonel and I."

"Ok," Ed walked towards the door, "Let's go Al. We will be in the hall."

Once the boys were in the hallway they closed the door and each pressed an ear to it, attempting to eavesdrop on the two officers.

Iniside the room, Roy eyed the gun warily. "What brings you here at this hour, Hawkeye?"

"I…" she took a deep breath, "I have been told you committed treason and I came to bring you in." She said as she adjusted her slightly shaking aim to a nonlethal spot. Baxter could simply be over reacting with the whole kill thing, she would bring the Colonel in alive and they would discuss it later. She still was not sure Roy had actually stepped off the path.

Roy put both his hands up and took one step towards Riza. "If you truly believe," another step, "I betrayed the military," his fourth step put him close enough to feel the gun, shaking obviously now, pressed against his heart. She had readjusted her aim in surprise as he approached. "Then shoot me now."

Riza was very confused. She trusted Roy, but she loved Baxter, and she had no idea what was going on. Baxter said Roy tried to kill him, but she had never seen any proof of that herself. But she loved him and believed him. But Roy was her comrade and superior officer, they had a long history wading through a river of blood and she trusted him with her life. But…

Riza's knees gave out, and Roy caught her as she collapsed. He sat her down against the wall and gently removed the gun from her grasp. He replaced the safety and put it on a nearby table.

Then, when he turned back to Riza and their eyes met, he noticed her eyes were less clouded than they were a few minutes ago.

"Ed!" he called to the eavesdropping teen, "Call Havoc and tell him to get here now!" Roy and Riza just sat there on the ground as Ed contacted the other soldier. Al followed his brother to the phones.

Roy watched Riza closely, trying to figure out what had caused this whole situation. She had her head tilted forward, refusing to meet his questioning gaze.

About five minutes of awkward silence later, Havoc burst through the door with a pistol in hand.

"What the…?" Poor Havoc had jumped out of bed, grabbed a pistol, and ran all the way to HQ in only his pajama pants and a pair of sneakers. He glared at Ed, the boy said it was an emergency!

"2nd Lieutenant Havoc," Roy rose from his position on the ground, "Than you for coming in."

"Yeah, yeah," Havoc scratched the back of his head, "What's this emergency?"

"I need you to stay here with Al and Lieutenant Hawkeye while Ed and I go to apprehend a criminal" The look on Roy's face as he said this told Havoc not to ask any questions and to just obey orders. Havoc saluted and filled the space Roy was sitting in before.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, Al, stay here with Havoc." Roy ordered the pair.

"Yes Sir!" Al chirped back. Riza did not reply.

"Let's go Ed." Roy walked with intent out the office door.

"Alright," The teen followed the Colonel, "We are finally going to see some action, aren't we?" He asked grimly.

"Yes," Roy nodded resolutely, "We are."

The two strode briskly out of HQ and into the night. Baxter's house was only a ten minute walk from HQ, but they arrived there in only seven. They used their extra three minutes to construct a plan of action. When they finished planning, Ed went up to the door while Roy lurked in a nearby shadow.

Ed rang the doorbell and, after waiting a few moments, glared at Baxter as he opened the door.

"Hello," Ed said conversationally, managing to contain his anger, "I am looking for Lieutenant Hawkeye, is she here?"

Baxter shook his head no, "Did you check her apartment yet?"

Ed nodded, "Yeah, I only came here because I heard the two of you had a date tonight." Ed's glare intensified as he stared the man down.

Baxter's eyes narrowed slightly, "She left a little while ago. I don't know where she went."

Ed let out a fake sigh, "Thanks anyway, I suppose." He turned away from the door and a slip of paper fell out of one of his jacket pockets. It was the drawing of the oroborus symbol and it landed face up.

"Oops," Ed scooped it up, looking to meet Baxter's panicked gaze, "I must have dropped that."

Baxter suddenly shoved Ed out of his way, running out into the street. Roy jumped out from the shadows of the house and blocked the other man's way.

"Where are you going?" Roy said coldly, "We have so much to discuss." His gloved fingers were outstretched and ready to snap.

Baxter did not stop running and attempted to knock Roy down so he could escape. He was forced to skid to a halt as a flame appeared in front of him. He turned to run the other way, but Ed was waiting for him.

Baxter was trapped.

"Now tell me," Roy asked threateningly, "What did you do to my subordinate?"

Ed sweat dropped; most people would be more concerned about why someone was trying to kill them, but not the Colonel. He cared more about Hawkeye's wellbeing than saving his own skin.

Baxter seemed to be having similar thoughts as the teen and replied, "Nothing, nothing at all. To any of them, since I'm not sure which one you are talking about."

Roy's eyes flared with his tempter, "Don't play dumb! I'm not going to ask again."

"What can I say," Baxter smirked, "the ladies just adore me. Why do you ask? What did she do?"

"Nothing that is any of your concern!" Roy practically yelled at Baxter.

"Touchy, touchy," Baxter's smirk grew a few molars, "Ever heard of a love potion?"

Ed had never seen the colonel this angry before, and they hadn't even asked the guy about the assassins yet. He decided to intervene before Roy literally snapped and burned Baxter to a crisp. Ed wanted to damage the guy beyond repair too, but they couldn't risk killing their source of information.

"We are taking you in for questioning on the charges of being a suspect in the attempts on the Colonel's life." Ed said.

Baxter chuckled, "I don't think so." His skin turned white and he seemed to transform. Ed's jaw dropped.

"Pick your teeth off the ground, ain't you ever seen a chimera before?" The creature asked Ed.

Ed recovered and shook his head no as Baxter crouched down and scratched one floppy ear with his left foot. He looked rather strange with his beagle patterned skin, black nose, long snout, tail, and floppy ears, but he didn't really seem to care.

Roy was not fazed by the transformation and fired a flame and the chimera. When Baxter jumped out of the way, he started running on four paws.

"I don't know what you are," Ed said as he transformed his automail into a weapon, "But I will stop you anyway." He charged in, and Baxter dodged again. He was quick on his paws, faster than Ed was anyway. Ed followed, still attempting to strike and still failing with every swing of his automail.

The flame Roy had lit earlier burned out, and the only light came from occasional passing cars, a distant lamp post, and the half moon. Roy would have cast another flame to light up the area, but he didn't want to risk hitting Ed by accident.

Both Ed and Roy were having difficulty finding Baxter, let alone actually hit him. Baxter, on the other hand, had a hound dog's nose. It was easy for him to sneak up on Ed and…

"Ouch!" the teen jumped and lashed out behind him. "He bit me!"

"Eeeww…" Roy chuckled slightly at Ed's expense raising his guard a little to defend from similar attacks, "I hope he didn't have rabies."

"It's not funny!" Ed pointed a finger at the Colonel threateningly, "Shut your trap!"

Suddenly, a bright light shined over the group.

Riza Hawkeye had arrived on the scene, and she had brought a flashlight with her.

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End Note: I can't believe there is only one more chapter after this. It is really exciting, since this is the first chapter story I will ever finish. Also, I would like to apologize to Alphonse Elric, when I first wrote this I forgot he was there and I had to go back and write him in, which is why he was excluded from the action.

Review Please!


	8. Chapter 8

Author Note: Here it is at long last, the final chapter of this story. Thank you everyone who reviewed and stuck with me through it, it has been fun. The sad part about this story is that I had the entire thing hand written about half a year ago, but never actually sat down to type it up. R&R!

Disclaimer: Do you really expect it to change? I still really do own nothing.

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Along with the flashlight, Riza also had a gun. It was a large rifle and it was aimed directly at Baxter's head. He transformed back into a human to talk to her.

He approached her slowly, with his hands opened and raised slightly. "Hey Riza, thanks for coming to help me…"

He was cut off by a loud bang and a bullet tearing though his skull.

Ed watched in slight shock as Baxter fell over in slow motion. He couldn't believe the Lieutenant had just walked up and killed Baxter so easily after he and the Colonel had been fighting the mutt for such a long time. She did it with only one shot.

While Ed was thinking, Riza walked over to the body with a grim expression on her face.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye," Roy wasn't surprised to see her, but he was surprised to see her alone, and he took a few steps towards her. "Where is 2nd Lieutenant Havoc?"

Riza scoffed, "He didn't even have a clip in his gun, so I left him at HQ."

"Ok." Roy started to debrief Riza on the situation, though still slightly wary of her behavior, but Ed was still confused.

"Wait a moment," he exclaimed, "Why did you kill him? As much as I disliked the guy, we were going to bring him in for questioning!"

"It is simple; he was trying to kill Colonel Mustang. My job is to protect the Colonel, so I killed him," Riza said frankly, keeping her expression even and not portraying any emotion.

Ed pouted but did not reply. A few seconds later he let out an unwilling yawn, it had been a long day for one teen to handle.

"Why don't you go get your brother and go to your room Edward?" Riza said softly, her gaze softening with affection for the boys she was starting to consider as her sons. "Colonel Mustang and I will handle the situation here."

"Ok, see you tomorrow." Ed waved goodbye and walked back to HQ slowly; his limbs felt a bit heavy and he had a lot to think about. What kind of chimera could transform like that? Was there a philosophers stone involved? Why had they merged Baxter with a beagle of all breeds of dog? These questions kept him occupied until he arrived back at the office.

"Hey Al," he said as he opened the door, "You won't…" his voice died out as he noticed the room was vacant. "Al, 2nd Lieutenant Havoc!" he called out, "Where did you go?"

An answer to his question came as he heard a muffled thudding coming from the supply closet. He approached it slowly and carefully opened the door. Havoc and Al fell out with a clink, tied together with Havocs pajama pants. Ed stared in silence; this night was getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

Havoc was still wearing his shoes and a pair of military blue boxers and Al was desperately trying to snap his brother out of his stupor so he could untie them.

Ed shook his head once, "How did this happen?" he asked, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice."

"It was Lieutenant Hawkeye," Havoc said angrily, "I turn my back for one second and I end up tied up in my own pants and trapped in a closet."

Ed quickly untied the knots holding the pair and Havoc snatched them back from him and put them on. "Why didn't you just rip through them?" Ed had to ask.

Havoc glared at the teen, "Then I would have had to walk home in my boxers!"

"So?" Ed teased.

"Brother," Al interrupted the teasing, "What happened out there?"

Ed's eyes lit up as he told the story, "Baxter was a chimera of some kind, I don't know how it was possible. He transformed into some kind of dog and we were fighting him until Lieutenant Hawkeye arrived." Ed averted his gaze to his shoes, "She killed him. After that, she sent me back here to rescue you from Havoc's pants." Ed snickered.

"There was a human chimera?" Al asked in amazement, "That's not even possible!"

"Yeah, I know, it was so strange. I will have to draw you a sketch of him later…" Their voices faded as they left Havoc in the office to attempt to recover his dignity.

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The next morning, Roy, Riza, Ed, and Al, were sitting in Roy's office, with the boys perched in guest chairs and Riza standing behind Roy's shoulder at his desk.

"They did an autopsy on the body," Roy said bluntly, "He truly is a chimera. Unfortunately, we have no idea how he was formed or who formed him. Our own chimera expert, Shou Tucker, had no idea chimera's like that could even be created."

"Hmm." Ed scratched the back of his head, "Well, we will keep an eye out for anything suspicious while we travel. Not because we want to help you! But because Al and I are interested in the chimera."

Al nodded, "Yeah, and we are going to set out tomorrow."

"Where will you boys go next?" Riza asked without shifting her position.

"Dunno yet." Ed responded, shrugging.

"Have you ever heard of Liore?" Roy asked, smirking slightly.

"No." Ed responded.

"I heard, but don't me on this." Roy leaned in slightly as he spoke, "there is a priest there who is rumored to commit miracles with a philosopher stone. But you didn't hear it from me."

"All right." Ed stood up from his chair, "See you when we get back then, Bastard-Colonel."

"Bye Fullmetal"

Once the boys were gone, Riza walked around to the front of Roy's desk.

"Don't you want them to stick around for a few days to celebrate Edwards birthday?" she asked.

"No," Roy shook his head, "They probably would protest anyway. Besides, I slipped Ed's gift into his bag."

They were silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry," Riza said quietly, "This whole incident could have been dealt with easily if I hadn't been so foolish." She wouldn't meet his gaze as she spoke.

"Don't be sorry." Roy said clearly, "This was all out of our hands. If anything, it will bring me one step closer to a transfer to Central."

"True," Riza walked over to the door, "I'm going to the shooting range for a while."

"Ok." Roy dismissed her.

She was about to close the door behind her when Roy's voice stopped her.

"Lieutenant," he said solemnly, "once I am transferred will you still follow me?

"Of course."

A few hours later, far away on a train, Ed discovered his gift. It was a bottle labeled 'growth serum' on one side and 'milk' on the other.

He was not pleased.

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"**You said if I put my subordinates on this we could win without showing ourselves. Now I am down three men and my best Chimera, and Roy Mustang is still alive!"**

"_We will try again, there are other chimeras in your group who could kill him with ease."_

"**No way, I'm outta here. No more of my men will die for your cause."**

"_You will regret this, Greed."_

"**I doubt it, Envy."**  
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End Note: Finished at long last, I bid this story farewell. Time to start working on something else I guess. Farewell folks!

For the last time!

Review Please!


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